Metropolitan Agafangel of Odesa Did Not Return Seal of Metropolitan Volodymyr

According to a report of rupor.od.ua, on February 10, a special representative of the Kyivan Metropolitanate confiscated from Metropolitan Agafangel of Odesa the round seal of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, which was in his possession.

A correspondent of religion.in.ua found out that it was the seal of the head of the UOC-MP, Metropolitan Volodymyr. It turned out that the administrator of the office of the Kyivan Metropolitanate, Archimandrite Arkadii (Demchenko), really visited Metropolitan Agafangel in Odesa. However, he refused to give back the seal. The metropolitan explained that he accepted the seal of Metropolitan Volodymyr for storage at the session of the Synod and will return it at a session of the Synod.

But it is not known when the next session of the Synod of the UOC is to be held and whether Metropolitan Agafangel intends to give the seal back at the next session. According to the report, the keeping of the seal by the Metropolitan of Odesa is not authorized by any church documents except the tacit agreement of the members of the Synod. The situation is comical: “the obedients of His Beatitude” obstruct the return of the seal to their head.